Chocolate Sugar Cookies

This is my first post as a proud new member of The Secret Recipe Club.  This month I am sharing with you a recipe from The Daily Dishes Recipes site for Simple Chocolate Chip Cookies.

You know me, I love easy to make recipes when running short on time and this one was quick and simple to prepare.  Plus anything with chocolate is a winner in my books.  This recipe gets an A+ !

Everything begins in the bowl of your stand mixer.  First you combine the dry ingredients (except cocoa) then gradually add in wet until finally mixing in the crowning glory - 1/2 cup of heavenly cocoa powder. That's it - cookie dough is done!  No sifting, no multitude of mixing bowls...nada.  Just one bowl, a few key ingredients and you are good to go.

Devil Food Cupcakes

Wishing you all a wonderful day filled with pink hearts, red roses, dark chocolate and LOVE!  Valentine's Day would not be the same without a sweet treat and cupcakes are a great way to celebrate the day.  These cupcakes are rich devil's food topped with a creamy, buttery frosting tinted pink for the occasion.  I piped on a rose design but swirls would look great too.

The cupcake crumb is light, fluffy and  simply of divine - nothing dense or dry about these guys. The rich frosting is the perfect topper and super simple to make:  just butter, powdered sugar, some cream,  vanilla extract and voila - an amazing frosting!  Tint it with some red or pink gel until you have the color you want.  Initially I was thinking a deep red for these but when I saw the pink color I fell in love.

Black Chocolate Party Cake

A short and super sweet post that is a MUST read with a MUST bake recipe link!  This all boils down to chocolate and my love of it.  Dark, bittersweet, milk..I'll take it.  I particularly love chocolate in the form of rich cocoa powder - the darker, the better in my opinion.  What better way to use my fave Valrhona cocoa powder than in a Rose Levy Beranbaum recipe for Black Chocolate Party Cake.

I have been a proud owner of Rose's Heavenly Cakes cookbook for quite a while now and have tested and loved many a recipe within those gorgeous bound pages.

I have eyed up her Black Chocolate Party Cake for quite a long time too but never got around to making it.  I think the fact that the batter contained walnuts that you need to first toast , remove the skins and then grind was the deterrent.  But then, as if my magic/destiny/fate, I stumbled upon an adapted recipe on Technicolor Kitchen and the rest, as they say, is history.

Chocolate Banana Marble Bread

Banana bread has to be one of the most popular and well-loved snacks around. I have shared a few recipes on this site for various types of banana bread but I have to say, this one may be my fave yet. Who wouldn't love rich chocolate and banana batter swirled together into one incredible loaf?

Though this loaf doesn't rise as high as the other banana breads I have made in the past, I was amazed at its fine crumb and velvety texture. This baby is far from dense or dry. It is heavenly sliced up plain or smeared with some cream cheese. Personally I love mine with butter while it is still warm from the oven.

Hummingbird Bakery Chocolate Muffins

Yesterday I became the proud new owner of 2 glorious items: a 1 kg bag of Cocoa Barry Extra Brute cocoa powder and The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook. I could barely sleep with the anticipation of putting both to good use come the morning. So rise and shine, I was up at 6 am on a Saturday ( you know you are a baking addict when....) and made a lovely dark and luxurious batch of chocolate muffins. Did either recent purchases disappoint? Not in the least !

The muffins were moist, soft and perfectly flavored with the rich cocoa powder and milk chocolate chips. These were light and air, not dense like a regular muffin. In fact, you could easily compare these to the taste and texture of a cupcake.

In the past I have always used Fry's Cocoa Powder not by choice but out of necessity. There is simply not another brand around here at the grocery store. Then I decided to just go for it and buy Cocoa Barry Extra Brute online. I clearly had no idea what a 1 kg bag would look like because when it arrived I was shocked to see the size of it. I thought to myself "I am never going to use all this!" but when I opened the bag today I realized how wrong my thinking was yesterday. It is like silk. Not a clump to be found. It is a dark chocolate color and the smell that greeted me when I opened the bag was incredible. I felt like I was in a chocolate factory. I am in love and cannot wait to use this gorgeous cocoa powder in many a baked dessert to come!

And the cookbook? Another great purchase!

Each recipe has a photo and the book is beautifully laid out into various sections including muffins, cupcakes, cakes, pies, cookies and bars. I decided to try the chocolate muffins as my first baking experience from the book switching up the recipe a bit as I went along. What I noticed right away was the low oven temperature and longer baking time. These bake at 325F for 1/2 hr. The came out of the oven nothing short of sheer perfection.

So without further ado, let's get baking!

RECIPE:
*adapted source recipe Chocolate Muffins, Hummingbird Chocolate Muffins

WHAT YOU NEED

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
6 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2/3 cup milk - 2 % works fine
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 3 tablepoons unsalted butter melted
4 oz milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips

MAKE IT

PREHEAT oven to 325F
LINE MUFFIN TIN with 12 paper liners

IN BOWL OF STAND MIXER fitted with paddle attachment, cream eggs and sugar for 3 minutes on MED speed
IN SEPARATE MEDIUM bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt
IN SMALL BOWL, combine milk and vanilla extract
ADD FLOUR MIX AND MILK MIX in 3 alternate batches mixing just until combined
STIR in melted butter and chocolate chips
WITH ICE CREAM SCOOP, fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter
BAKE 30 minutes - toothpick inserted in center should come out clean
LET COOL 5 minutes in pan then transfer muffins to cooling rack

ENJOY !



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